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Much of the Philippine capital remained underwater Thursday after deadly Typhoon Gaemi worsened torrential monsoon rains that lashed the country, trapping thousands of people in rising flood waters and causing widespread damage. Continuous heavy rains, massive flooding and landslides across the Philippines killed at least 13 people and displaced more than 600,000, and an oil tanker capsized off the country’s coast during strong winds and high waves, Philippine authorities said Thursday. Unlike in Taiwan, the typhoon – known locally as Carina – didn’t make landfall in the Philippines, but its powerful outer bands dumped more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain in the Manila region and parts of the main island Luzon, prompting officials to declare a “state of calamity” in the capital on Wednesday and evacuate tens of thousands of people. Video and images from Manila show people wading through chest-deep water and some clinging precariously to overhead power lines as major roads turned into rivers. Families with children wrapped in towels or plastic ponchos huddled together on dinghies as disaster response teams rescued them from flooded houses. Some parts of Metro Manila – home to 13 million people – have reported floods as high as one-story buildings, with some residents spotted waiting for rescue on roofs, according to the official Philippine News Agency. In Rizal province’s Cainta, east of the capital, floodwaters were still around waist-level on Thursday, according to local councilor Ben Ramirez Narag. “No one is prepared for this, even though we anticipated the typhoon, we could not have predicted the scale of rainfall,” he said. His team was delivering supplies to evacuation centers and assessing damage to infrastructure, he added. The southwest monsoon, supercharged by the typhoon, is still causing misery and destruction in the Philippines even after Gaemi moved north and made landfall in Taiwan early Thursday as the equivalent of a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic. Rescuers assist a child getting off a boat along a flooded road following heavy rains brought by Typhoon Gaemi, in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 24, 2024. Lisa Marie David/Reuters A road is seen flooded caused by Typhoon Gaemi and monsoon rains on July 24, 2024 in Quezon City. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes on July 24, 2024 in Quezon City. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge killed at least two people and injured nearly 300 others in Taiwan’s northeast, according to the Central Emergency Operations Center. Taiwan remained largely shut down for a second day Thursday with flights canceled and financial markets, schools and offices closed as heavy rainfall continued to pummel the island. Some mountainous regions have reported up to 1,219 mm (48 inches) of rain. A cargo ship carrying nine crew sank off Taiwan’s coast in rough seas on Thursday, according to the island’s fire agency. The Tanzanian registered vessel sank around 20 miles off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung and was not equipped with a lifeboat. All the crew members “fell into the sea and were floating there” wearing life jackets, Hsiao Huan-chang, the head of the fire agency, said in a news conference. The island is expected to endure several more hours of torrential rain even as the typhoon’s center moved into the Taiwan Strait Thursday and headed toward China. The storm is expected to make landfall in China’s southeast coastal Fujian province, bringing more strong winds and downpours to a country already hit hard by weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding. Taiwan’s Xindian river rises in New Taipei City as Typhoon Gaemi barrels over Taiwan on July 25, 2024. Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images Oil tanker capsizes The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said it was responding to an incident involving a tanker carrying over one million liters of industrial fuel oil that capsized off the coast of Bataan, west of Manila. PCG spokesperson CG Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said 16 crew members of the MT Terra Nova had been rescued with the search ongoing for one missing sailor. Images show the coast guard launching a rescue operation and the ship almost fully submerged in rough seas. Coast Guard aerial assets have been deployed to monitor an oil spill with “an estimated coverage of two nautical miles (2.3 miles) carried by a strong current,” it said. On land, the flooding has caused widespread disruption that forced authorities to close schools, businesses and cancel more than 150 flights on Thursday. Carlito Pagaduan, a resident of northern Ilocos Sur province, told CNN that heavy rains descended early Thursday and although floodwaters had not entered his home he feared they may lose power in the hard-to-reach area. “We’re trying to save battery,” he told CNN. “Due to strong winds, we don’t know when we’ll lose electricity.” He said his family has prepared for evacuation but will stay in their home for now. A handout photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the tip of MT Terra Nova protruding in Manila Bay, Philippines, July 25, 2024. Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters Rescue services said Thursday they are continuing to pull trapped residents out of flooded buildings. Some homes could be seen completely inundated and vehicles submerged on flooded streets. Quezon City, north of Manila, was hit hard by the floods. The city government said in a post on X that more than 55,000 people, including nearly 16,000 families, had been evacuated and were sheltering in evacuation centers. The Philippine Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for donations to help the thousands of Filipinos affected by the typhoon-enhanced monsoon. “Families and children are without water, electricity and basic services, whole others are stranded in knee- and chest- deep floods,” it said in a post on X. Dramatic footage posted by Philippine media Wednesday showed several barges colliding with a bridge in Pasig City as the Marikina River – a major artery flowing through the capital – overflowed. Pasig mayor Vico Sotto told local media Wednesday night that a man was rescued from one of the barges and brought to a nearby hospital for treatment. At

An oil tanker overturned on Karachi’s Baloch Colony Flyover, killing at least one person and causing hours-long traffic delay early morning on Thursday. Traffic on many thoroughfares, including Korangi Road, Sharea Faisal, and Shahrah-e-Quaideen, has been impacted by the accident as the authorities have not yet removed the large vehicle from the flyover, despite passage of several hours. Asad, the driver of the vehicle that was crushed beneath the truck, passed away instantly. After three hours, a crane lifted his vehicle. The rescue officials said the tanker overturned due to overloading and detaching of its engine. Even after several hours, the authorities failed to remove the tanker from the road as a fire brigade official said they could not lift it as long as the oil was completely drained. Meanwhile, plethora of people have started collecting oil spilling from the unfortunate vehicle. Deputy Inspector General Traffic Karachi Ahmed Nawaz Cheema said the tanker, carrying 60,000 litres of jet fuel, was going towards the airport area. He said all four compartments were full of fuel, out of which 600 litres of oil had spilt on the road. Additionally, Cheema advised citizens to stay away from the tanker as jet fuel is highly flammable. He also said additional force was deployed to keep people away from the vehicle. The DIG traffic police said the company concerned had been contacted and it had assured to bring suction pumps as the tanker could not be moved until it was emptied. The Baloch Colony Flyover has been closed and the traffic diverted towards other routes. The vehicles travelling from Shaheed-e-Millat Road has been diverted from Bohri Cut towards Sharea Faisal, traffic coming from Korangi via Jam Sadiq Bridge has been diverted towards Akhtar Colony from a U-turn, and the vehicles going towards Korangi from the Baloch Colony bridge are being sent towards the FTC Chowrangi. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1213217-1-killed-as-oil-tanker-crash-causes-hours-long-traffic-disruption-in-karachi

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/25/israel-war-on-gaza-live-netanyahu-not-serious-about-ceasefire-deal-hamas

A German citizen has been sentenced to death in Belarus after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities, according to a Belarusian human rights group. The group Human Rights Center “Viasna” said the German national is a 29-year-old German Red Cross employee named Rico Krieger. According to his LinkedIn profile, he worked as an emergency medical technician for the German Red Cross and as an armed security officer for the US Embassy in Berlin. Krieger was sentenced in the Minsk Regional Court on June 24, Viasna said on its website on Friday. Krieger was charged under six articles of the Criminal Code of Belarus, according to Viasna, including “mercenary activity,” “agent activity,” an “act of terrorism,” the “creation of an extremist formation,” “intentional disrepair of a vehicle or communication lines,” and “illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition and explosives.” Viasna also reported that Krieger was found guilty of “arranging an explosion in order to influence decision-making by authorities, intimidate the population, [and] destabilize public order.” It is unclear exactly what led up to Krieger’s alleged crimes or when they occurred. “The Federal Foreign Office and the Embassy in Minsk are providing consular support to the individual concerned and are working intensively on his behalf with the Belarusian authorities,” a spokesperson from the German Foreign Office told CNN on Saturday, in an apparent reference to Krieger. “The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that Germany rejects under all circumstances. We are actively working worldwide to abolish it and are strongly advocating against its execution in all affected cases,” the spokesperson added. Belarus says it has ensured consular access to a German national, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Anatoly Glaz said in a statement on X. Minsk has “proposed a number of options” to Germany “for the development of the situation,” he said, according to Belarusian state media BelTA.  “There have been contacts with the German side on this topic, of course. This criminal is a German citizen and we understand the German side’s concern for him,” said Glaz, according to BelTA.”Consultations on this topic are being held by the foreign ministries of the two countries,” he added. The German Red Cross (DRK) told CNN’s German affiliate N-TV that while “the man in question,” without naming Krieger, had previously worked for them, his stay abroad was not related to his work with the DRK. CNN has also reached out to the German Red Cross for comment. “I am concerned by news that German citizen Rico Krieger was sentenced to death by Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus,” exiled Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on X on Friday. “We are collecting more information on his case at the moment. From what we know, he was accused of several so-called ‘extremism’ related crimes,” she added. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/20/europe/rico-krieger-german-death-sentence-belarus-intl-latam/index.html

Pakistan on Sunday asked the German government to take action against the “gang of extremists” which attacked its consulate in Frankfurt, endangering the lives of its consular staff.  In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Pakistan strongly condemned the incident and the failure of the German authorities to protect the sanctity and security of the premises of its consular mission. The Foreign Office’s statement comes a day after a group of Afghan nationals vandalised and attacked the Pakistani consulate, pelting stones at the building and removing the country’s flag. The statement said that the responsibility to protect the premises and ensure the security of diplomats falls under the host government under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963. “We are conveying our strong protest to the German government and urge to take immediate measures to fulfil its responsibilities under the Vienna Conventions,” the Foreign Office said. Pakistan also sought the German authorities to take immediate measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in the incident and hold to account those responsible for the lapses in security. The video of the incident went viral on the internet in which the Afghan nationals could be seen storming the Pakistani consulate. There are reports that they also tried burning the Pakistani flag. According to media reports, the situation has drawn significant attention among the international communities, raising concerns about the diplomatic security of the installations. However, the officials have been assured of a thorough investigation by the German authorities in Frankfurt. They have also arrested several people who are being investigated after the video went viral. It is, however, unclear as to what was the cause of the incident. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1211883-pakistani-consulate-in-germanys-frankfurt-vandalised-by-afghan-nationals

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/22/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-to-vaccinate-troops-as-polio-seen-in-gaza

At least 40 Haitians have been killed at sea and several people were injured after their boat caught fire, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. The boat, which was carrying more than 80 people, departed from Fort Saint-Michel in northern Haiti on Wednesday for the Turks and Caicos islands, a 250km (155-mile) journey, the IOM said on Friday, citing the country’s migration authority. The boat caught fire off the coast of Cap-Haitien in Haiti’s north, according to the United Nations migration agency, which said 41 people were rescued by the Haitian coastguard. Eleven people were being treated for injuries, including burns. People on the boat used matches to light candles in a ritual to ask for safe passage, leading gasoline-filled drums to catch fire and explode, Jean-Henry Petit, who heads the civil protection office in northern Haiti, told the Miami Herald newspaper. “This devastating event highlights the risks faced by children, women, and men migrating through irregular routes, demonstrating the crucial need for safe and legal pathways for migration,” said Gregoire Goodstein, IOM’s chief in the country. Haiti has, for years, been roiled by violence with armed gangs fighting for control of territory. In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks in the capital, Port-au-Prince, taking control of police stations and key access roads, opening fire at the main airport, and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee. More than 570,000 Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence, according to the UN. “Haiti’s socioeconomic situation is in agony. The extreme violence over the past months has only brought Haitians to resort to desperate measures even more,” said Goodstein. Several hundred Kenyan police officers have arrived in Haiti as part of a UN-mandated mission to help police in the Caribbean nation fight the gangs. The IOM said that more than 86,000 migrants and refugees have been forcibly returned to Haiti by neighbouring countries this year. In March alone, despite a surge in violence and the closure of airports throughout the country, forced returns increased by 46 percent, reaching 13,000 people. Since February 29, the coastguard in the north has observed an increase in the number of attempts and departures by boat. Coastguards from countries in the region, including the United States, the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos islands, and Jamaica, have also reported a growing number of boats originating from Haiti being intercepted at sea. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/20/at-least-40-haitians-killed-in-boat-fire-un-migration-agency-says

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday offered Pakistan’s support to Oman in the elimination of terrorism in all of its forms. The statement came after the ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, Fahad Sulaiman Khalaf Al Kharusi, paid a courtesy call on PM Shehbaz earlier today. The premier strongly condemned the dastardly terrorist attack on a mosque in the Wadi Kabir district of Muscat on July 16 and appreciated Oman’s swift response and cooperation with the Pakistan mission in the repatriation of the bodies of the deceased and treatment of the injured. The attack claimed the lives of six people, including four Pakistani nationals, and left over 30 injured, nearly all of whom were Pakistanis. PM Shehbaz said Pakistan had itself been the victim of terrorism for the past several decades. During the meeting, the prime minister conveyed his best wishes for Sultan Haitham bin Tariq while recalling his telephonic conversations with the Sultan on Eidul Adha and Eidul Fitr earlier in the year. The premier also reiterated his invitation to the Sultan of Oman for an official visit to Pakistan at his earliest convenience. On the bilateral front, PM Shehbaz stressed, saying: “Pakistan and Oman enjoy close, brotherly ties with a shared history, faith and culture.” He expressed Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries, particularly in trade, investment, energy, and defence. In this regard, the premier thanked the ambassador for encouraging a trade and investment delegation that will visit Pakistan next week. He assured the visiting dignitary that the relevant Pakistani authorities would extend full cooperation to the delegation while seeking mutually beneficial outcomes. The Omani envoy thanked the prime minister for receiving him and conveyed to him the greetings of the Sultan of Oman. He reaffirmed his country’s desire to further enhance its trade and investment relations with Pakistan. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1211250-pakistan-extends-support-to-oman-in-combating-terrorism-after-imambargah-attack

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/20/israels-war-on-gaza-live-calls-grow-on-israel-to-end-palestine-occupation

A spokesperson for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) confirmed Friday that the bodies of four Pakistanis, who died in a rare attack at a mosque in Muscat, Oman, have been repatriated to Pakistan. The assault — for which the terrorist organisation Daesh took responsibility and Pakistan labelled as a “dastardly” terror attack — occurred on Monday evening at the Ali bin Abi Talib mosque in the Wadi al-Kabir neighbourhood of Muscat. The Royal Oman Police said the three gunmen — all Omani nationals — were brothers and “were killed due to their insistence on resisting security personnel”. It said that police investigations had indicated the three gunmen were “influenced by misguided ideas”. The six people killed by the gunmen were four Pakistani nationals, an Indian, and a police officer responding to the attack. Twenty-eight others were injured. In the statement, the PIA said the body of deceased Syed Qaiser had been brought to Karachi and would later be transported to Lahore. Meanwhile, the bodies of Ghulam Abbas and Hasan Abbas have been transported to Islamabad, while Suleman Nawaz’s to Lahore. It was the first known operation claimed by the Daesh group in the sultanate, which is among the most stable countries in the Middle East. Monday’s attack came ahead of Ashura, an annual day of mourning that commemorates the seventh-century martyrdom of Imam Hussain, his family, and companions in the battle of Karbala. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1211133-remains-of-pakistanis-slain-in-oman-terror-attack-return-home